Romania’s Development Minister Attila Cseke has announced the government will cut 40,000 jobs in local administration, saving the government 2.2 billion lei every year in its bid to reduce public spending.
The minister also proposed redistributing funds from other ministries to finance projects from the “Anghel Saligny” rural development program which needs 4.5 billion lei by the end of the year. The financing of the program has caused frictions in the ruling coalition with the Social Democrats threatening to walk out of the government if financing wasn’t found
“The cuts will also be applied at the national level… cuts at the offices of the prime minister, deputy prime ministers, ministers, secretaries of state and so on, a reduction in the number of advisers from top to bottom, 6,000 positions in all,” Cseke said.
“We are proposing 4,000 positions cut from local police. In total, over 40,000 positions in the local administration will go saving us 2.2 billion lei annually,” he told Antena 3.
“Why are we doing this? Because, on the one hand, we need to increase the revenues of the local authorities, knowing we are in a difficult year and probably next year will be a difficult year as well.”
Romania had a budget deficit of 9.3% in 2024, the largest in the European Union and the coalition government plans to reduce it to 7.7% this year. On Aug. 1, it raised VAT and other taxes and is cutting public expenditure across the board.
“The state does not have the financial capacity to support town halls . We (also) need to create the levers through which they collect their income from the debtors… and the second measure is to streamline the structure of the local authorities,” the minister said.
The Anghel Saligny program focuses on the modernization of local communities by making investments in local infrastructure, county and local roads, water and sewage infrastructure, water treatment plants, expansion of the natural gas distribution network.
The aims is to provide essential services for Romanians in rural areas, increasing the quality of life and avoiding the risk of depopulation in underdeveloped communities.
